Snap-acting suspender fasterner

ABSTRACT

A SUSPENDER FASTENER HAS A FEMALE COMPONENT DISPOSED AT THE OUTER SIDE OF A GARMENT, AND A MALE COMPONENT DISPOSED AT THE INNER SIDE OF THE GARMENT AND HAVING A POST PASSING INTO AN APERTURE IN THE FEMALE COMPONENT. THE COMPONENTS INCLUDE COOPERATING LIPS AND LEDGES WHICH ARE HOOKED AND SNAP ENGAGED TO SECURELY GRIP THE MATERIAL OF THE GARMENT THEREBETWEEN AND THE COMPONENTS PRESENT SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT, PLANAR SURFACES ADJACENT THE BODY OF THE WEARER OF THE GARMENT AND AT THE OUTER SIDE OF THE FASTENED COMBINATION.

Jan. 26, 1971 H. s. VAN BUREN, JR 3,557,410

SNAP-ACTING SUSPENDER FASTENER Filed July 17, 1969 FIG. 5

FIG. 4

INVENTOR HAROLD S. VAN BUREN JR.

BY 9%) Q0 ATTORNEY FIG. 3

United States Patent 3,557,410 SNAP-ACTING SUSPENDER FASTENER Harold S.van Buren, Jr., Lexington, Mass., assignor to United-Carr Incorporated,Boston, Mass., a corporation of Delaware Filed July 17, 1969, Ser. No.842,480 Int. Cl. A41f 11/04 US. Cl. 24-245 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A suspender fastener has a female component disposed at theouter side of a garment, and a male component disposed at the inner sideof the garment and having a post passing into an aperture in the femalecomponent. The components include cooperating lips and ledges which arehooked and snap engaged to securely grip the material of the garmenttherebetween and the components present substantially flat, planarsurfaces adjacent the body of the wearer of the garment and at the outerside of the fastened combination.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the invention The inventionrelates to suspender fasteners and particularly those used with garterbelts, panty girdles, etc., for supporting stockings.

(2) Description of the prior art The prior art includes a large numberof stocking supporting, suspender fasteners. The most widely known typeof fastener comprises a female component having an elongated, generallykeyhole shaped slot which receives a necked stud passing from the insideof the stocking, and carrying a portion of the stocking into theenlarged area of the slot, which stud is then forced into the narrowerportion of the slot to pinch the stocking material between thecomponents. The long recognized objectionable characteristic of theaforementioned arrangement is that the bulbous head of the stud issuperimposed on the outer surface of the female component and frequentlyproduces a pronounced and rather unsightly bulge in tight-fittingclothing worn over the stocking.

Another known type of suspender fastener, which is of molded syntheticplastic construction, utilizes a flat female component having a keyholeslot with serrated edges and a flat, mating male tab with externalserrated edges which are pressed together to grip the material of astocking therebetween. While this fastener substantially eliminates theunsightly bulges mentioned above, it has proved unsatisfactory in thatthe interlocking serrated edges of the components seat between theinterstices of the woven or mesh material and often tend to tear and/orpull the fibrous material when the fastener is attached to and releasedfrom the stocking.

Still another known synthetic plastic fastener employs a female sockethaving inwardly opening pockets in the ends thereof and an elongate maletab which is seated to secure the stocking by inserting one end of thetab and a portion of the stocking into one end pocket, bending the tababout a transverse line to shorten its length, inserting the other endof the tab and another portion of the stocking into the opposite pocketin the female socket, and pressing the components together to flattenthe tab. The aforesaid method of engagement is laborious and timeconsuming and care must be taken to insure that the components areproperly seated to avoid accidental ice release of the stocking.Further, the suspender strap carrying the male tab, which is theexternal component in this case, must be attached in superimposedrelationship to a central portion of the outer face of the tab, sinceboth ends of the tab must be free for proper seating .in the pockets ofthe female socket. Thus, a thickness buildup in the fastening is createdand the problem of unsightly bulging of clothing worn over the stockingarises.

The present invention provides a substantial improvement in fasteners ofthe type characterized by the prior art discussed above as will becomeevident from a reading of the detailed description of the inventionwhich follows hereinafter, in conjunction with a viewing of theaccompanying drawing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the invention, a preferred form ofa suspender fastener for supporting a stocking or similar garmentincludes mating male and female snap fastener components adapted to besecured to suspender straps and to efiiciently grip the material of astocking therebetween when engaged. The components are molded from asynthetic resinous material. The male component includes a base havingsubstantially flat, planar surfaces and an integral post projectinggenerally perpendicularly from one surface of the base. The post has amain body portion, which is preferably hollow, and a pair of lipsoverhanging opposite sides of the body portion and disposed adjacent theend of the post remote from the base. The female component includes abase having at least one substantially flat surface and a thickenedportion having a post receiving aperture molded therein. The postreceiving aperture is at least partially defined by a pair of opposedledges lying within the thickened post receiving portion. Components aresecured to a stocking by placing a portion of the stocking over thepost, passing the post and overlying material into the aperture with aslight tipping motion applied to the female component to simultaneouslyseat one of the ledges therein beneath one of the lips on the post, andthereafter pressing the components together to snap the other ledge overthe other lip. According to the disclosed embodiment of the invention,the height of the post is approximately equal to the thickness of thepost receiving portion of the female component so that in the coupleassembly the top of the post lies substantially flush with the outer,planar surface of the female component.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an external, front elevationalview of a suspender fastener according to the invention as it appears inuse as a stocking supporter;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged section taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1 with thesuspender straps partially broken away;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged top plan view of the components of a suspenderfastener according to the invention depicted in laterally offsetrelationship, with straps secured to each of the components;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the male component of the suspenderfastener; and

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the female component taken on line55 of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As illustrated in the drawing, asuspender fastener according to the invention includes male and femalesnap fastener components which are injection molded from a syntheticresinous material, for example, nylon or the acetal resin marketed by DuPont under the trade mark .Delrin. The male component 1 of thecombination includes a base 2 having substantially flat, planar.surfaces 3 and 4, and a hollow post 5 formed integral with the base andprojecting generally perpendicularly from the surface 4.

The post 5 has a generally cylindrical body portion 6, the oppositesides of which are flattened at 7. A pair of lips 8 and 9 projectlaterally outwardly from adjacent the free end or top 10 of the post andoverhang the flat sides 7 of the body portion. The lip 8 is somewhatwider and longer than the lip 9 and provides a greater overhang adjacentone side 7 of the post.

Parallel slots 11 and 12 are formed in the base 2 adjacent the flattenedsides 7. These slots provide a means forremoval of the mold pinsutilized to form the flat sides 7 and overhanging lips 8 and 9 duringinjection molding of the part, and the longer slot 11 provides a meansfor attaching the base 2 to a suspender strap 13 which is threadedthrough the slot and stitched in a looped fold.

The female component 14 includes a base 15 having at least one flat,planar surface 16, a slot 17 for threadedly receiving a looped suspenderstrap 18 and a thickened post receiving portion 19 having an aperture 20formed therethrough. The through aperture 20 is partially defined by apair of opposed ledges 21, 22 which are disposed within the thickenedpost receiving portion 19 and which present inclined facing surfaces21A, 22A which slope away from the planar surface 16 of the base towardthe free edges of the ledges. The ledge 21 is somewhat wider and longerthan the ledge 22 as is best depicted in the right hand portion of FIG.3.

According to the typical in use arrangement depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2,the suspender straps 13 and 18 carrying the fastener components aresecured to the leg of a supporting garment 23 with a flat surface 3 ofthe male component lying adjacent the leg 24 of the wearer. The top ofthe mesh stocking 25 is then drawn upwardly between the strap so as tooverlie the post on the male component 1. The aperture 20 in the femalecomponent 14 is brought into registration with the post 5 with theforward or lower end of the female component canted downwardly towardthe base of the male component so that a slight upwardly pull on thefemale component will draw a tuck in the stocking beneath the lip 8 andwill seat the ledge 21 beneath the same lip. The sloping face 21A of theledge 21 provides a ramplike lead-in for easy seating of the ledgebeneath the lip. Thereafter, the components are finger pressed togetherto cause the ledge 22 to snap over and seat beneath the lip 9 wherebythe components are securely fastened together and another tuck formed inthe stocking material is securely gripped therebetween. As thecomponents are pressed together the interference between the ledge 22and the lip 9 is relieved by a slight flexing of the lip toward the base2 of the male component and a simultaneous slight flexing of the ledgetoward the outer planar surface 16 of the female component. Thus as thelip and ledge clear each other at final seating, a distinct audibleclick is heard to notify the wearer that the components are completelysnap fastened to one another.

From a further consideration of FIG. 2, the reader will observe that thepost 5 has a height approximately equal to the thickness of the postreceiving portion 19 of the female component so that in the fastenercombination the top 10 of the post lies substantially flush with thesurface 16 of the female component. Thus the fastener combinationpresents a flat planar surface adjacent the leg of the wearer and a flatplanar external surface and low over-all profile which substantiallyeliminates the bulging of outer clothing which is characteristic of manyprior art fasteners.

The reader will further observe that the free edges of the interlockinglips and ledges of the components are rounded to reduce the probabilityof cutting or tearing the mesh fabric of the stocking. Also, theflattened sides 7 of the post 5 provide an increased contact area ascompared with a completely cylindrical post, to enhance the gripping ofthe stocking material by the engaged components and inhibit accidentalslippage. Resistance to slippage is further enhanced by reason of thefact that tension in the stretched stocking tends to pull the malecomponent downwardly, as viewed in FIG. 1, whereby the adjacent flatside 7 on the post is forced tightly against the confronting edge of theledge 21 which in effect acts as a snub on the stocking.

Due to the greater width of the ledge 21 and the increased overhang ofthe lip 8 on the post, the interference between these elements of thecomponents in the coupled state precludes release of the fastenerbyother than a deliberate pull on either the straps or the componentswhereby the ends of the bases 2 and 15 adjacentthe slots 11 and 17 aredrawn laterally away from each other to precipitate an initial releaseby snapping the ledge 22 out over the lip 9, after which the ledge 21may be withdrawn from its seat beneath the lip 8.

As a general proposition, the interposition of the stocking materialbetween the snap fastener components along with the tension in thestocking jams the components to enhance the interlock therebetween.

What is claimed is:

1. A suspender fastener for supporting a garment, comprising mating maleand female snap fastener components adapted to be secured to suspenderstraps and to grip the material of the garment therebetween whenengaged, said components being formed from a resilient, syntheticresinous material, said male component including a base havingsubstantially flat, planar surfaces and an integral post projectinggenerally perpendicularly from one of said surfaces, said post includinga main body portion and overhanging lips projecting laterally outwardlyfrom said body portion adjacent the end of said post remote from saidone surface of said base, one of said lips being larger than the otherof said lips, said female component including a base having at least onesubstantially fiat surface and a post receiving portion having anaperture formed therethrough, said aperture being at least partiallydefined by opposed ledges lying within said post receiving portion, oneof said ledges having a fla surface extending at an acute angle to thelongitudinal axis of the post receiving portion, the other of saidledges presenting a countersunk portion for receiving the larger of saidoverhanging lips, said ledges extending trans versely across the postreceiving portion, whereby said components may be snap fastened to agarment by pressing the material thereof over said post of said malecomponent, passing said post and the overlying material into saidaperture in the female component and simultaneously seating the saidother of said ledges between said larger lip, and therafter fingerpressing the components together whereby the said one of said ledges issnapped over said other lip and the material is securely gripped betweenthe components.

2. A suspender fastener according to claim 1 wherein the length of saidpost on the male component is approximately equal to the thickness ofsaid post receiving portion of said female component whereby said postlies substantially within the confines of said post receiving portionwhen said components are engaged.

3. A suspender fastener according to claim 1 wherein said post on saidmale component is hollow.

4. A suspender fastener according to claim 1 wherein said post on saidmale component is substantially cylindrical with the external wallthereof adjacent said lips being flattened.

5. A suspender fastener according to claim 1 wherein one of said ledgeson said female component is of greater width than the other of saidledges.

(References 011 following page) 6 References Cited FOREIGN PATENTSUNITED STATES PATENTS 58,646 4/1913 Austria 24208.3 1,891,065 12/1932Sitton z4 z13x 9321484 10/1955 Gummy 24-245 2,258,605 10/1941 Garth24-245 2 300 342 10/1942 Cheney 24 24 5 DONALD GRIFFIN, Prlmary Exammer

